Bayley Has Reportedly Made a Decision on Her Long-Term Future in WWE

Bayley is back, and as many assumed when she appeared on Monday night's episode of WWE Raw in Birmingham, she's going to be sticking around for the long haul.
The Role Model had been missing from WWE programming ever since she lost to Lyra Valkyria at Saturday Night's Main Event back in July. She was choked out inside New York's Madison Square Garden and then dropped onto the steel ring steps with a Nightwing.
Rumors and speculation started bubbling to surface of the internet soon after that suggested Bayley's time in WWE was winding down. Her most recent contract extension, which was signed toward the tail end of 2023, was due to expire at the end of this year, and she was expected to receive major interest on the free agent market.

Rival promotion All Elite Wrestling, where Bayley's good friend Mercedes Moné is the reigning AEW Women's World Champion, was reportedly very interested in acquiring her services.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select had said that Bayley was going to get a huge offer from Tony Khan's company, and that she would have a rare opportunity to change how WWE contracts are negotiated, with potential guaranteed years and dollars included in a new extension.
Whether she was simply trolling wrestling fans remains unclear, but Mercedes Moné spent part of her summer fueling the Bayley-to-AEW speculation with her activity on social media. She heavily teased potential dream matches with her former tag team partner in All Elite Wrestling, but those bouts will reportedly remain a fantasy for the time being.
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Bayley has re-signed with WWE
BAYLEY TIME 🤌@itsBayleyWWE with PAYBACK on her mind but Lyra Valkyria BARELY escapes!!! pic.twitter.com/jBuDYgsuoP
— WWE (@WWE) September 8, 2026
Lyra Valkyria had the opportunity to qualify for the 2026 Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match on Monday night when she took on Sol Ruca and Maxxine Dupri in a triple threat qualifying match. She had the match won after hitting Dupri with a Nightwing, but Bayley came out of nowhere to pull referee Jessika Carr out of the ring to stop her three count.
The distraction allowed Ruca to hit Valkyria with a Sol Snatcher and win the match. Afterward, Bayley rolled into the ring and starting wailing on Lyra with a series of elbows. She later attempted to give her a powerbomb through the commentary table, but Valkyria was able to escape through the crowd.
WWE fans in Birmingham gave Bayley's arrival a tremendous ovation, and many online took her appearance as a sign that she had agreed to terms to remain with WWE. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer is now reporting that to be the case.
Meltzer was able to confirm Bayley's long-term future with WWE during the post-Raw episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, “Yep, signed a new deal.” No other details about the new agreement are known as of this writing.
Bayley is coming up on her 14-year anniversary with WWE, and will likely now have many more to celebrate. We'll continue to monitor this developing story, and provide more information as it becomes available.

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com
Follow RickUcchino